Chapter 23 : Broken chains
Hey guys, Agithos here for the second part of the chapter that was cut in half. Also, that chapter is really long (twice the size of a normal chapter) so I originally planned to divide this one too but I couldn't find a good spot to cut the chapter in half so I left it as a 10k words chapter. Without further useless message, enjoy.
Present time, The castle, Mickael POV
"AARRG !" A guard screamed as I stabbed his leg before punching him in the jaw, knocking him out cold. Next to me, Menos was shooting fireballs at a group of guards and Ben was doing one kill after another. As for Ari, she was staying away from the battle as she didn't have any weapons that could match against the guards' armor.
"God damn it Ben, what were you thinking ?" I asked him after parrying a sword with Nightfall. Thanks to him, our infiltration fell through and, now, we had to fight a dozen guards in full iron armor. No need to say that now, every living being in the castle knew about our presence.
"What are you complaining about Mickael ? If we kill them now, we won't have to worry about them later !" He replied as he slit a guard's throat.
"Unless we are killed first !" I responded, stabbing another guard.
"You are a pessimist !"
"No, I am simply realistic !"
An explosion occured next to me and I saw Menos floating above us with a fireball in each hand. He throwed one at a guard, sending him flying halfway across the room and creating a big explosion as he hit the wall.
"MICKAEL ! BEHIND YOU !" I heard Ari screamed. I turned around just in time to see a sword diving toward. I quickly stepped aside, barely avoiding the metal blade. I punched the guard in the face before kicking him in the chest. Ben finished the job by stomping on the guard's face.
I looked up and saw that Ari was using her spider powers to stick herself on the ceiling. Thanks to that she could support us by telling us if a enemy was behind our backs.
"Thanks Ari !" I thanked her.
"No problem !" She grinned before being surprised by an arrow landing a few centimeters next to her. I looked at the door at the far end of the room to see two archers aiming at Ari
"Menos !" I called him "Take care of them. Don't let them shoot !"
"I am on it !" He replied as he prepared two fireballs in his hands before throwing them at the archers. They began to run to the opposite direction. While they managed to avoid a direct hit from the fireballs, they were still blown away by the blast.
Seeing how easily we defeated his teammates, the remaining guards in the room looked at us before he began to run away from us. Fortunately, Menos placed himself in front of the door, preventing the guard from exiting the room. Ben approached the iron armored man and tackled him on the ground.
"WHERE IS SHE ? WHERE IS SNOWY ?" He screamed at the guard.
"I-I don't know who you are talking about !" The scared guard replied. His answer only seemed to anger Ben a little more.
"Don't play dumb with me !" Ben punched the guard's face "I know she is here, so I'll ask again. Where. Is. SNOWY ? The snow golem girl that was brought here two months ago !"
"L-Listen dude, I just joined the royal guards a month ago. I..." He was interrupted as Ben punched him another time.
"I didn't ask for your biography. I just want to know where she is. If you can't tell me, I should just kill you right here, right now !" Ben threatened as he put his wrist blade next to the young guard's neck. The man's face became really pale, a little more and he could have became as white as a creeper when it is about to explode.
"Wait, WAIT ! I don't know where she is excactly. But, if she really is a female mob, it is very likely she was made a maid. She is probably in her room right now !"
"Where is it ?" Ben continued to ask, his blade still close to the man's neck.
"It is on the western side of the castle. That's where the maids lives. You will find her there !" He answered.
A second later, the bounty hunter smashed the guard's head on the ground, knocking him out cold.
"Be grateful I decided to spare your life !" He then spoke with cold eyes before turning towards us.
"If he didn't lie to me, which I hope he didn't if he doesn't want to find his head on a spike, Snowy is in the western side of the castle. If your friend is here, she should be there as well !"
"Alright !" I responded "We will form two groups : Ben, you and Menos will be charged of saving Charloette and Snowy. As for Ari and I, we will be charged of stopping the King's escape !"
"Sounds good to me !" Menos agreed "Hold on, honey. We are coming !" Then, he runned to the door on our left, with Ben following close behind.
After they left, I shot a glance at Ari.
"Well now. What are we waiting for ? Let's make sure this self proclaimed god get what he deserves !" I chuckled.
Ari grinned and nodded before we began to rush toward the throne room.
Meanwhile, The king's bedroom, Unknow POV
"So, I heard you have another expedition planned for tomorrow !" The king asked the guest in front of him.
"Yes !" He answered "There is mine, a few hours away from here that I would like to explore. Who knows, there could be tons of diamonds inside. It could be very useful, I am a nearly broke at the moment !" The blonde man explained as he put his cup of wine on the table.
"Don't worry about the money, you know I would happily pay for the mobs you capture in those mines !" The 'Son and heir of the Gods' replied.
Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard within the castle, slightly shaking the room they were in.
"What was that ?" The king asked "GUARDS !"
Loud footsteps were heard outside of the room before the door opened violently. The guard was panting heavily.
"What is happening down there ?"
"My king, we have an intrusion into the castle. Four people : A female spider, A male ghast, a black armored assassin and an iron swordsman with an arm blade. He also have an eyepatch. I was told to come and warn you while my comrades were trying to deal with them !" The guard explained.
"An eyepatch you say ? It must be the man from before. They must have come here to get their friends back. I need to get out of here !"
"Calm down old man !" The bonde-haired man laughed "I never saw you like this. It seems you know those intruders. Who are they ?"
The king turned to his guest.
"Actually, I only know one of them : the one with the eyepatch. He came during the afternoon to seek my help to defend the kingdom against Herobrine's return. He even threatened me. I think I remember his name being Mickael Tabor or something like that !"
"WHAT ? Did you said Mickael Tabor ?" The guest asked, his eyes widened
"Well yes. Why ? Do you know him ?" The noble asked. Seeing that his friend wasn't responding, he called for him "David ? Are you alright ?"
"If I know him ? He is the one responsible for all my problems !" David replied before turning toward the king "I am going to ask you to stay here, old man. I swear, if he comes here, it will be a spectacle !"
The noble seemed to thought about the suggestion for a little before he sighed.
"Alright, I trust you !" Then he told the guard "You, search for the maids and get them to their room, we will stay here !"
"Yes my lord !" The guard replied before going onto his feets and running outside of the room.
While the old man was pouring himself another cup of wine, the blonde haired man was grinning like he touched the jackpot.
"This time Mickael, you shall die. I'll make sure of that !"
Meanwhile, western side of the castle, Ben's POV
We just entered the western side of the castle a minute ago and we already made a big mess. The door was in iron so Menos had to create a big fireball to break it down. A few guards tried to stop us but they were either stabbed by my blades or burned to death by Menos' fireballs.
After climbing up some stairs, we arrived into a long hallway with multiple wooden door on each sides.
"Snowy must be inside one of them !" I thought as I approched one of the door.
A hard kick well placed later and the door broke down. When the dust came down on the ground, I found myself in front of a scared maid, she had her arms covering her head. She almost made me remember Snowy when I met her for the first time. I heard Menos walking next to me.
"Please, don't kill me. I-I'll do anything, but don't kill me !" The maid began to cry.
"Don't worry, we are not going to hurt you. But you should really get out of this place, it will become a mess in a few minutes !" Menos spoke up.
"Are you here to free us misters ?" The scared maid asked after a few sniffing.
"You could say that !" I replied "We are here to put an end to the king's reign !"
"I see...I wish you good luck then !" The maid smiled and thanked us before running outside of her room.
As soon we saw her disappear around a corner, Menos turned toward me.
"We should open every room, our friends could be into one of these !" He suggested.
"I agree ! I nodded.
We approached another door and like last time I kicked it open. However, as soon as I did that, a sword grazed my left arm, making a few sparx as it touched my armor. I quickly reacted and dived one of of my blade into the throat of the royal guard that appeared in front of me. His body made a loud sound as it fell heavily on the floor.
"Wow...that was a close one. Good thing I have good reflexes !" I thought before saying to Menos "We should be careful from now on. There could be anything behind those door !"
We continued to explore the western side of the castle, breaking every door down. Freeing a few maids and killing the guards that were hiding in the dark, hopping to ambush us. At one point, we turned around a corner and saw two guards guarding a wooden door which seemed different than the rest.
"It's the last door, they have to be in here !" I whispered to Menos.
"They didn't spot us yet. What shoud we do ?" He asked back, a fireball in his hand.
"I take the one on the right, you take the one on the left !" I said as I pulled my throwing knife from its sheath. A second later, I exited our hiding place and throwed my knife which arrived into the guard's forehead.
"What ?" His teammate exclamed before a fireball collided with his face, killing him instantly.
That being taken care of, we quickly walked toward the door. When we arrived in front of it, I kicked it with all my might but, unlike the other, this one was still standing.
"Damn, this one is resistant !" I groaned.
"Here, let me try !" Menos said as he created two fireballs and throwed them at the door.
As soon as the fireballs hit the wooden door, they made a explosion, bringing the door with them into the other world. When the smoke dissipated, Menos and I entered the room to see at least twenty five maids regrouped into this room. They were all looking at us with scared eyes, all exept two, a zombie girl with an eyepatch and a ghast girl with long white hair.
"MENOS !" She shouted as she saw who was next to me.
"CHARLOETTE !" He also shouted as he runned to hug her before giving her a passionate kiss on the lips, earning a few 'awwww' from the maid next to them.
I was happy for them, sure, but I still had one person in mind : Snowy. I looked around and wandered across the room, searching for her. Unfortunately, I couldn't see her anywhere.
"Snowy ?" I called her.
"You are too late, human. Snowy has been taken away a hour ago !"
I turned to face the source of the voice. It was a zombie girl with an eyepatch. She was walking toward me, her eye looking at the ground. My eyes widened by what she had just said and I quickly took her by the shoulder.
"WHERE IS SHE ? WHERE HAVE THEY TAKEN HER ?" I shouted at her face.
"She is in the dungeon right now. Receiving a punishement for deceiving the master !" She responded.
"Where is it ?" I asked.
For a second, I got no reply for the zombie girl. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"I-I will lead you to her. I have already been on this part of the castle. I can lead you there. I-I own her that much..for not believing her !"
"Great, thank you...What's your name ?"
"Mira !" She answered.
We both runned outside of the room before we were stopped by Menos and Charloette calling for our names. We stopped and we saw the two ghast running towards us.
"We are coming with you !" Charloette said.
I nodded and we resumed our course. A few minutes of running later, we arrived in front of an iron door. It looked very old, a thin layer of rust covering most of the door. There was also small trails of blood onto the floor, there was only a single torch lighting up the entrance of the dungeon.
"There is a creepy atmosphere around here !" Charloette spoke up, wraping her hand around her boyfriend.
"Trust me !" Mira began "This is nothing compared to what it's like in there !"
I carefully puched the door and it slowly opened. When we entered, we noticed two rows of cells on each side of the hallway. Inside, a few skeletons could be seen, their hands handcuffed to a wall. I began to get worried.
"Snowy, I hope you are alright !" I thought.
We began to walk down the hallway, looking for Snowy's cell. A few prisoners were still alive amongs the bones of their former neighbors, begging us to free them.
"What are we going to do about them ?" Menos asked.
"Leave them here !" I answered "At least, they are safe here. We will come down there to free them as soon as the king is dead !"
Hearing my response, Menos walked away from the cells and continued on his way, following me. Suddenly, a loud clac was heard and immediately after, the cry of pain of a young girl was heard as well through the dungeon. It made my blood boil and I began to run at full speed towards the source of the scream, leaving my teammates behind. A few seconds later another scream resonated into my ears.
As the third scream was heard, I arrived in front of the scene. A girl with orange hair I knew too well was attached to a pole, her back turned to a man with a whip in his hand. I could see some wounds on her back, drops of blood dripping out of them. She was whimpering. Her persecutor raised his hand to whip her another time.
I became furious...no, more than that, enraged. Before he could hit her, I took him by the hand.
"Huh ?" I asked, suprised before he felt my iron gauntlet colliding with his mouth. That made him grunt in pain and stunned him.
Immediately after punching him, I dived my right wrist blade into his arm. He screamed as he felt the sharp metal into his soft flesh. Then I stabbed him into the chest before pinning him against the wall.
"Who are you ? What do you want ?" He asked, coughing some blood.
"What I want ?" I replied "Your death !"
Using my left wrist blade, I pierced his thoat. He tried to made a sound but couldn't because of the blood flooding his trachea. I retracted my right blade from his chest and, with a swift horizontal motion of my arm, I cut his head of. His body fell on the floor.
I looked to Snowy. She was unaware of what just happened behind her back.
"W-Who is there ? What happened ?" She asked with a scared voice.
I slowly approached her and placed my hand on her shoulder. Then I put my face right next to her's
"Please don't hurt me..." She continued.
"Don't worry Snowy. I won't hurt you !" I replied with a gentle voice.
She seemed to recognize my voice as she opened her eyes and looked at me. I saw her eyes widening.
"Ben ?" She asked, surprised.
"Yes, it's me. Hold on, I am getting you out of there !" I answered.
I cut the ropes holding her hands around the pole and she fell on her knees. I sat in front of her and took her hand in mine. She looked at me straight in the eyes.
"Are you alright Snowy ? They didn't hurt you too much did they ?" I asked her, full of concern.
I saw a few tears coming out of her eyes. Then she pulled me into a tight hug as she began to cry out loud, her chest buried into my armor. I began to stroke her back, carefully avoiding all the whip marks.
"Shhh, it's alright. I am here. Everything will be alright from now on !"
"l-I am just so happy you are here. I always knew you would come and save me !" She cried happily in my arms.
We stayed like this for about a minute, our arms around one another. Snowy seemed to have calmed down and she was no longer crying, even though I could hear her sniffing from time to time. At one point I parted away from the hug.
"I am going to make him pay for everything he did to you !" I spoke up as I began to get on my feets.
Suddenly, a hand catched mine, preventing me from getting up.
"Wait, Ben !" Snowy replied.
I turned around only to be met with Snowy's lips pressing on mine. For a second, I was stunned by her sudden move. I didn't know she has feelings for me until now but I knew one thing : I had some for her. I closed my eyes, placed my hands on her waist and began to kiss back. I felt her tongue trying to penetrate my mouth and I gladly let her do it.
"Awww, look at them. They are so cute !" A heard a female voice speaking up behind me.
Snowy's face became red of embarrassment and hid herself behind me. I looked behind to see who interrupted our loving moment : It was Charloette walking towards us with Menos and Mira by her sides. As soon as she noticed the ghast girl, Snowy got out from her hiding place and runned happily to the white haired girl.
I smiled and picked up my helmet which was on the ground before rejoining them. Snowy was talking with Mira
"See, I told you he would come !" Snowy grinned.
"Yeah yeah. I am sorry, you were right and I was wrong !" Mira replied, her arms crossed and her eyes looking away from my friend.
"So, Ben..." Menos began "Now that you have saved your friend, what are you going to do ?"
"I am going to pay this king a visit to change the paint of his room in red !"
"Please, promise me you will be careful !" Snowy pleaded, her hand placed on my shoulders.
"Don't worry. I'll come back soon !" I reassured her, pecking her forehead. Then, I gave her my helmet "Keep it safe for me !"
I walked away from the group and quickly made my way away from the dungeon. Suddenly, a spine-chilling scream was heard from the top of the castle and stopped me in my track.
"What...What was that ?" I asked myself.
That scream was nothing like I ever heard. It sounded like a cry if rage but coming from something inhuman. I began to sprint toward the throne room.
"What is happening up there ?"
10 minutes ago, The castle, Unknow POV
After a few minutes of searching inside the upper part of the castle, Mickael and Ari finally arrived in front of a gold colored door. They noticed two iron armored guards in front of the door.
"That's where he must be !" Mickael thought.
"Careful Mickael, we don't know what is behind this door !" Notch replied inside of his head.
Ari and Mickael runned towards the guards, hopping to take them out before they could alert any of their teammates. They both took one of them. Mickael punched the guard in the jaw before smashing his head against the wall. As for Ari, she tackled her opponent before biting his neck with her fangs, killing the guard in a few seconds.
As soon as the two guards were down, Mickael approached the door.
"That's it Ari. No turning back now !" He whispered to his spider friend.
"Yes, let's end this slavery once and for all !" She replied.
Mickael raised his right foot and kicked the door which bursted open. He was the first to enter into the luxurious king's bedroom. Inside he saw the noble hiding behind a soldier in full golden armor. Mickael coudn't see their face because of a helmet covering it.
"David !" The 'Son and heir of the Gods' spoke up "They are here. Take care of them !"
"David ?" The eyepatched man asked as he heard the name of the man he never wanted to meet again
"Yes, Mickael. It has been a while, isn't it ?" The man known as David replied, removing the helmet from his face.
"What are you doing here ?" Mickael said, his anger growing larger every seconds.
"I am just paying a visit to an old friend of mine. Truth to be told, I didn't expect to see you there. But, since you are, I can finally get rid of you !" David responded, pulling his sword out of his sheath.
Mickael was about to do the same until he heard someone growling next to him. He turned toward the sound of the voice. It was coming from Ari who just entered the room a few seconds ago. She was gritting her teeth and her eyes were burning with hatred. Mickael never saw her like this, not even when he broke Ayumi's heart. She was staring at one person in particular : the noble who was hiding behind his bodyguard.
"You..." She tried to say before her hate consumed her totally. She hurled herself toward the king "YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO NADIS !" Ari screamed.
Unfortunately, before she could make it halfway, David placed himself in her path and grabbed her by the thoat. Then he lifted her off the ground. Ari began to struggle.
"PUT ME DOWN YOU JERK. I HAVE BUSINESS WITH YOUR MASTER !" She shouted at David's face as she kicked it making him grunt in pain. He recovered rather quickly from her hit and looked at her.
"As you wish !" He replied calmly before violently tackling her on the ground. He then placed his right foot on her torso and his sword right next to her neck.
"ARI !" Mickael screamed as he began running toward David.
The king smirked and snapped his fingers. Just a few seconds later, six guards entered the room and surrounded the eyepatched man. Mickael could grit his teeth as he saw the noble slowly approaching Ari who was still struggling to get David's foot off of her.
"You seems familiar !" He spoke up.
"Of course I would seem familiar, you bastard. YOU KILLED MY BEST FRIEND UNDER MY OWN EYES !" Ari replied.
The noble searched deep into his thought. He has killed so many slave during his life, he didn't keep the track of it. However, there is one slave that has dared to lay a hand on his precious face : A young male spider mob.
"Oh, so you are the slave that escaped during the rebellion. It's so nice to come to me. Now I will be able to reclaim what is mine !" He said, putting his head close to Ari's.
The young spider girl took the opportunity to spit at his face.
"Screw you. I am not your slave anymore. I am a free mob and I will stay that way for as long as I live !" She grinned.
The king wipped the saliva of his cheek before kicking Ari into the chest making Ari gasp in pain.
"You will learn to respect your master, you insignificant creature !" He replied out loud.
On the other hand, Mickael tried to think of a way out of this mess. Ari was pinned down and he was at the mercy of a dozen guard. He knew that, one wrong move could mean his and Ari's death. He certainly didn't want that to happen.
"Notch, what do you think ?" He asked in is mind.
"I am going to try and figure out something. You need to gain some time !" The god answered.
Suddenly, he heard Ari gasping. He turned around and saw the noble hitting her in her stomach with his feets. Mickael even noticed some blood dripping out of her mouth. As soon as he saw that, something broke deep inside of him. His hatred for the two men in front of him grew larger with every second passing. David threatened his friends, wanted to rape Ayumi and to sold Vanessa as a slave. He even destoyed Vanessa's only memory of her sister. As for the noble, he captured hundreds if not thousands of mobs, including Charloette. And now, he was assaulting Ari.
He couldn't take it anymore. It was his chance of putting an end to all of it. He didn't just wanted to stop their bad habits. He wanted them to feel pain. He wanted to kill them. Something began to change inside of Mickael's body which didn't go unnoticed by Notch
"Huh ? Mickael ?" Notch tried to call his host but he received no answer.
Mickael didn't answered, he was too focused on his rage. His teeth became fangs, his nails became claws, tearing through his gauntlet. His skin was also slowly losing its color. For Notch, it was clear that something was wrong, and it wasn't going to go better.
"Mickael ! MICKAEL, SNAP OUT OF IT !" Notch screamed.
To his horror, Mickael didn't replied. Instead let out a cry of rage which seemed inhuman. It was so loud the guards in front of him had to cover their ears. The noble stopped what he was doing and everyone looked at the direction of the scream. The guards began to walk away from Mickael.
"Make him shut up !" The king ordered "It's unbearable !"
The guards gazed at each others with unsure looks on their faces. Eventually, the bravest one walked toward Mickael who was still screaming at the top of his lungs and punched him right in the face.
The force of the punch made the eyepatch come off of Mickael eyes. They all gasped at what they saw. Even Ari eyes widened in horror as she stared at her former friend. Instead of the yellow cat eye he got when he came back to life, there was a red demonic eye. She remembered Mickael telling the group he was infected by a sort of dark magic that could have transformed him into a monster.
"Mickael ?" She asked to herself as she heard some growling coming from him.
In a fraction of a second, Mickael took the guard who punched him by his face and throwed him against the wall behind the noble. The guard flied above Ari and David before crashing into the wall and making a few cracks. The guard fell on the floor, unconscious.
She looked around her, everyone was paralyzed by fear for a few second before the king shouted :
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR ? KILL THAT THING. DON'T LET IT GET CLOSE TO ME !"
The guards lunched themselves at Mickael, their swords raised. They all went to cut him at the same time. With surprisingly inhuman speed, Mickael avoided them all before killing three of the guard by slicing their throat with just a single motion of his arm. Then, he killed another as he stabbed him with his claws.
Seeing their teammates getting completely butchered, the two remaining guards dropped their weapons and runned for their lives, leaving only Ari, David, the king and Mickael into the room.
Mickael went on all four, his mouth drooling and his red demonic eye screaming for blood. David didn't know what to think of this situation. Hopping he could stop Mickael, he decided to use Ari as a hostage.
"Hey, Mickael. One more step and you will re..." He didn't have the time to finish his sentence as Mickael pounced on him with such speed and force they both went flying into the wall and completely destroyed it. Because of the dust, neither Ari nor the noble could see what happened into the other room.
"David !" The king said out loud a few seconds after seeing his bodyguard getting propelled outside of his bedroom. He began to walk toward the hole.
Unfortunatly for him, now that David was gone, Ari was free to move again. She jumped on his back, taking him by surprise.
"You are not going anywhere asshole !" Ari said
"What ? Get-Get off me !" The 'Son and heir of the Gods' replied.
"Not a chance !" The spider girl responded before biting the noble ear, ripping it away from his head.
The noble screamed in pain and covered the place where his left ear once was. He could only feel blood coming out of the wound. Ari got off the king's back as he began to move his arms randomly, knocking a few vases on their way. Wanting to finish this as soon as possible, she pinned him onto the ground and trapped his arms under her knees, leaving him unable to defend himself. She raised her fist.
"That one is for Nadis !" She said as she hit the noble's face with all the power she could put in her punch.
"That one is for wasting two years of my life !" She continued, punching him another time.
"And these ones are for all the mobs you captured, including Charloette !"
Ari began to hit the noble again and again. He was at her complete mercy. His body trapped under Ari, he could only feel te pain erupting from his cheeks, nose, eyes and mouth. His nose was bloody and he already lost of few teeth. Because of all the pain he was experiencing, he wasn't able to make a single sound exept some grunts of pain as Ari continued to beat relentlessly until he was nearly unconscious and disfigured.
When she was satisfied, she got off the noble and spitted on his body.
"I know I should probably kill you, right here, right now, but I won't do that. I want you to suffer all the rest of your pitiful life. I want you to rot in a dungeon until you wither away to nothing. That's all you deserve !"
Meanwhile, in the other room, the battle was still raging on. After being pounced on by Mickael, David and him went through the wall and arrived into the other room. Thanks to his armor, he was able to tank the impact quite well. When they landed on the floor, Mickael was on the top of David.
"Raaah. Get off me !" The golden armored man replied, struggling to prevent his opponent from biting his face off.
David put his feet on Mickael torso and pushed with all his might. The demonic eyed man was sent flying for a second before landing on his back, a meter away from David. The monster quickly went on all four and began to climb the wall using his claws to have a good grip. Seeing this, David got on his feet and prepared himself to face another pounce from the creature in front of him.
"What in the nether happened to him ?" David asked himself.
He didn't have the time to think anymore as Ari's friend jumped from his wall, toward him. The golden armored man was ready for this kind of attack. He placed his sword in front of him. Mickael couldn't evade the weapon and impaled himself on the sword.
David grinned as he saw his enemy stabbed by his metal blade, his blood flowing down to the handle and falling on the floor. Mickael stopped moving and his arms fell on his side.
"Finally...now that I have killed you. I should pay a visit to your friend !" He chuckled as he pulled out his sword from Mickael torso.
However, he stopped laughed when he noticed the red eyed man's body wasn't falling on the ground. Instead, he heard some quiet growling coming from his opponent. The man in iron armor began to freak out when he saw Mickael's wound slowly closing itself. When it was completely healed, it was like there was never a wound to begin with.
"What-What are you ?" David asked to the creature.
Mickael didn't answer. He simply rushed toward the stunned David and, with a swift motion of his arms, used his claws to cut off David's hand from his arm. The bodyguard of the noble screamed in pain as he felt Mickael's claws tearing through his flesh. His hand fell on the floor, along with his sword, leaving the adventurer defenseless.
The demon eyed man tackled David on the ground and grabbed him by the throat. Then, he opened his mouth and bit David's shoulder as hard as he could. His teeth easily pierced the armor and arrived in the golden armored man flesh. David tried to struggle but, like a wolf on his victim, Mickael shaked his head vigorously, tearing more and more flesh with each second passing.
Because of the loss of blood, David began to feel dizzy, all his strengh seemed to abandon him little by little. As an act of last resort, he punched his enemy straight in the face. The human like creature didn't even notice he was being punched at but he let his shoulder go nonetheless. David was barely conscious when he saw Mickael staring at him, his face really close to his'.
"S-Screw you Mickael. If-If it wasn't for you. I would have become rich and famous. You ruined my life. At least, I will see you in the Nether !" He spoke up, coughing blood between words.
David saw Mickael opening his jaw and lauching at his throat.
When Ari arrived on the scene, she was horrified by how much gore there was in the room. Blood was present on every wall and, in the center of the room, she saw two figure in the room. One of them was lying on the ground, a big pool of blood underneath his body. The second person was leaning above the other. Even though she couldn't see what he was doing, she could hear some gruesome noises.
"Mickael ? A-are you alright ?" She asked, carefully approaching the scene.
As Mickael heard his name, he quickly turned his head toward Ari. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw her friend. He still had his red demonic eye, but his mouth was covered in blood and he was was holding some kind of bowel in his jaw. Ari, petrified by fear, fell on her butt. It wasn't common for her to he scared by some things, but this, this wasn't just 'some things'. This was her friend, transformed into a bloodthirsty monster
The monster, because that is how she called him, dropped the bowel on the floor before him and began to crawl toward her. Ari tried to back away from her former friend but her muscles wouldn't listen to her. Mickael's face was now inches away from her's.
"P-Please Mickael. It's me, Ari, your friend. Snap out of it !" The spider girl begged with a scared voice.
Ari closed her eyes, hopping this was just a nightmare and that she would wake up soon. She could feel the nauseous smell of blood and death in Mickael breath, brushing against her skin. She felt tears coming up into her eyes. She never thought she would die like this, she didn't want to die like this.
"A...Ari ?" Mickael spoke up for the first time since his transformation. His voice was different : Deeper, darker...scarier
The spider girl opened her eyes to see her friend in front of her. To her surprise, his mob eye was slowly returning to its original yellow color, his teeth and nails retracted into their normal forms. His skin was also getting back to a more normal human color.
"What...happened ?...So...tired !" Mickael said in his original voice before falling unconscious in front of her spider friend.
"Mickael !" Ari said out loud as she went to check his pulse. She placed her hear next to his mouth and sighed in relief when she heard him breathing.
"He is just sleeping !" She thought, smiling.
While Ari was checking if her friend was alright, the noble managed to regain some kind of consciousness. Seeing Ari with her back turned to him, he smiled to himself and crawled to a small chest of drawers. He pulled out one of the drawer and picked up a smaller version of a crossbow. He also picked up a small arrow and loaded his weapon with it.
"I'll show you to disrespect me, you little whore !" He thought as he aimed his crossbow at Ari's neck.
Just as he was about to shoot his arrow, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, making him gasp in pain. He looked at his wound and saw a metal blade sticking out of his body. He turned around to see a tanned man in a black armor staring down at him with eyes full of hatred.
Hearing the cry of the noble behind her, Ari turned around to see Ben picking up the king by the throat and throwing him against the floor.
"Who-Who are you ?" The 'Son and heir of the Gods' asked.
"My name doesn't matter. All I want is your head !" Ben replied, making both of his wrist blade come out of their sheath.
"Y-You are a bounty hunter, right ? Don't you know who I am ? I am the S..."
"I know who you are !" Ben interrupted him "You are Philicas the Third, son of Philicas the Second. Autoproclamed 'Son and heir of the Gods'. You killed a lot of humans and mobs just for you selfish desires. And before you can ask how I know that, trust me. I have my sources !" He began to walk toward the noble "When I am done with you, you will beg me to end your life !"
The man now know as Philicas the third was terrified. Not once before he has been so close to death.
"Wait, if-if you are a bounty hunter, you must have an employer. I'll pay you two, no three times what they have promised you if you bring me back their heads !" The king suggested, making Ben sigh
"You know, if it was a normal contract, I would have accepted your opinion without second thought. However, this contract have nothing to do with money. I am here on my own will because you hurt a very dear friend of mine, and for that, you will pay !"
Ben pulled out a knife from his armor and stabbed Philicas' hand, stucking it on the ground. Ignoring his victim's scream, the tanned man put his right foot above the wounded shoulder of Philicas and stomped on it. Ari, who was watching the scene, heard the bone cracking and snapping. Philicas the Third began to cry because of the pain he was experiencing.
"It hurts doesn't it ? We are not even getting started !" Ben spoke up with the same deadly serious voice from earlier.
The black armored man kneeled down next to Philicas. Then he stabbed him in the leg using his wrist blade. Ben made sure to not hit anything vital, like an artery. Ari watched Ben repeating the process for the other members, with each time making the noble scream. Then Ben stabbed Philicas in the chest and twisted the blade while it was still into his flesh. The king coughed up some blood.
"Don't worry, it will end soon !"
Ben got on his feet and placed his foot on Philicas' throat, slightly pushing on it. The king tried to get free, in vain.
"Ready to go into the Nether ?" The bounty hunter asked.
The noble raised his hand toward Ben, asking for mercy and forgiveness, but he wasn't going to have some. In a fraction of a second, everything was over. Ben twisted his foot, breaking Philicas the Third's neck, killing him in the spot.
"It's done !" Ben spoke up before turning towards Ari "Are you alright ?"
"Yes !" She replied "Thanks for the help by the way !"
"No problem. What the in the nether happened here ? I heard a scream and I killed two guards on my way here talking about a monster or something !" He responded, noticing David's butchered corpse a few meters away from them and an unconscious Mickael resting next to Ari.
"Trust me, you don't want to know !" Ari closed her eyes "Weren't you with Menos and Charloette ?"
"I was but I left them behind to take care of a personnal matter. They are, along with Snowy, taking care of the other maids !"
Then, Ben walked toward Mickael. He picked him up and placed him on his shoulders.
"Our job here is done. Let's get out of here !" He said before exiting the room.
Ari nodded and followed him outside of Philicas bedroom. They both made their way back to the main hall of the castle where they were greeted by their friends and thirty other maids. As soon as Snowy saw Ben, she quickly runned towards him before hugging him
"Ben ! The king...is he..." She began.
"Yes, it's over Snowy. He won't harm anyone ever again !" Ben replied.
The snow golem girl parted away from the hug ans finally noticed the unconscious body of Mickael that was carrying Ben. She wasn't the only one though, Charloette and Menos noticed him as well. They runned to the small group.
"Mickael !" Charloette called out loud before turning toward Ari "Is he alright ? What happened upstairs ?" She asked.
Ari thought about what to say
"I don't know if I should tell them about Mickael's outburst !" She said to herself before answering "He...He is just exhausted. There have been quite a violent fight up there !"
She heard Charloette sigh in relief as she smiled.
"I am glad to hear that. However, he needs a place to rest until he wakes up. Let's go to a safer area !"
They all nodded at each other before we pushed the front gates of the castle and walked outside the castle. The maids and the former prisoners began to smile widely as they entered into the outside world for the first time since their capture. One of them even kissed the ground in hapiness.
Ari smiled as she watched them hug each others. She even felt a tear going down her cheek.
"Nadis, are you watching this. You told me that one day, I would be free. Today, is that day !"
Unknow time, Unknow place, Mickael POV
When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry. Everything before me was just like a giant mist. Exept, when my vision became clear, I noticed there was actually a thick cloud before me. I looked around and saw that everything was dark. I could see myself just fine but it was like I was trapped into a giant cube painted in black. I couldnt see any furniture nor door to be around.
"Where am I ?" I asked myself "Am I the void again ?"
"No, you are not Mickael !" A voice behind me spoke up.
I turned around to see Notch slowly walking towards me.
"How are you feeling, young one ?" He asked me.
"Like I was runned over by a dozen tanks at the same time !" I answered, rubbing my forehead "But, if we are not in the void, then where are we ?"
"We are in your mind, Mickael !"
"In my mind ?" I replied, looking at the darkness above me "I would have thought it to be a bit more colorful !"
Notch crossed his arm and chuckled.
"That's because you are sleeping right now Mickael. You are not thinking of anything except the conversation we have right now. That's why you are here in the first place !"
"But...but..." I began, surprised "Why would I sleep in the middle of a battle ? There are still David and the king that we must deal with. Ari needs my help !"
Notch walked towards me and put a hand on my shoulder. His face took a more serious expression.
"Mickael, the fight is over. We won !"
"Well, that's a relief !" I sighed, reassured.
"Mickael..." Notch stared at me straight in the eyes, making me a bit anxious "I am going to ask you a simple question. How much of the battle do you remember ?"
I tried to search into my memories. I remembered entering the king's bedroom with Ari. I remembered seeing David. I even remembered seeing Ari get pinned down by David and feeling anger and hate toward him. Then everything was dark, I couldn't remember anything past that point.
"I don't know. E-Everything is blurry !" I answered, covering my eyes with a hand.
I heard Notch sighing before he snapped his fingers. Just a moment later, I found myself in the king's bedroom. I was surrounded by the six guards and Ari was pinned down on the ground by David while the noble was kicking her.
"Wait, I remember that part !" I thought.
"Indeed, that's your last memory before your transformation !" Notch replied inside of my head.
"Before my what ?" I asked him before I was interrupted by a scream coming from me, a cry that didn't even sound human at all. I saw my nails transforming into claws and my skin becoming grey. I also noticed my vision was a bit more reddish. A guard punched me to make me shut up. And that was the starting point of the bloodbath that followed. I could only watch as I was tearing and ripping apart the guards around me. I was paralyzed. I didn't know I could be that violent. The worst part was my fight with David. After I killed him in the most inhuman way possible, I began to feed on his corpse, making disgusting noise while doing so.
I heard someone calling me and I turned around. It was Ari with a terrified expression on her face.
"Oh no, not her. Please Notch, tell me I didn't kill her !" I told Notch.
"No, don't worry. I don't know how, but she managed to get out of this state !" He answered.
The vision ended with me falling asleep in front of my spider friend. We returned into my mind. I was still shocked by what I saw and did inside of the king's bedroom. I only had one question in mind.
"Notch...What happened to me ?"
"I already told you about the magic infection within your body right ? While I managed to stop it until now, I couldn't when the anger and the hate toward these two men took the better of you. Fortunately, your spider friend was able to bring you back. Otherwise, I don't want to know what monster you could have become !" Notch explained.
I sighed, looking at the ground.
"Where am I now ?"
"Hmm, it seems you are in a sort of hospital room. Well, you will wake soon so you will see for yourself !" The god answered before disappearing.
Present time, The hospital room, Mickael POV
Just like Notch said, a few moments after he disappeared, I woke up on a bed feeling warms rays of sunlight onto my face. I yawned and sat on the bed. I looked around to see that I was in a sort of white room with a window and a wooden door. I was wearing some kind of white clothes made of wool and I noticed my eyepatch was already covering my right eye. I was feeling a sharp pain that was erupting from my forehead and my monster eye. As I remembered what I have done, I quickly got up and dashed towards a trash can. Soon after, I emptied the contant of my stomach into it. I won't describe what came out from down there but I am sure I saw the rest of a human phalanx.
That being done, I wiped my mouth. Suddenly, the door opened and a girl in purple clothes walked in the room. When she saw me, she gasped.
"You are awake. I'll go tell your friends !"
Then, she exited the bedroom. A moment later, a small group consisting of Ari, Jade, Charloette and Menos walked in, followed by Ben, Ricka and a girl with orange hair I guessed as Snowy.
"Hey Mickael, how are you holding up ?" Ari asked, a worried expression on her face.
"Well, if we except the earthquake happening into my head right now. I am fine !" I replied.
"I am glad to hear that !" She smiled "You have been sleeping for a day and a half now !"
"Really ? I have slept that long ? What time is it ?" I asked.
"It's past noon !" Ben replied "Get ready. Miss Sandra wanted to see you as soon as you were awake !"
"Alright !" I responded, rubbing my forehead "Can everybody get out of the room, except Ari ?"
The spider girl just stared at me, probably guessing what I wanted to talk about. The other just shrugged and left the room, leaving me and Ari alone. There was a moment of silence before one of us decided to speak.
"I...I am sorry for losing control of myself back there !" I began avoiding her gaze.
"It's alright Mickael !" She replied with a gentle voice.
"NO, it's not...What-What if I ended up hurting you ?"
"But you didn't, remember ? You changed back before you even touched me !"
"But, what if it happens again. What if I end up hurting you or Vanessa or...Ayumi ?" I said as I felt my eyes becoming wet "Maybe...Maybe it's for the better if I leave..."
I was interrupted as I felt Ari's hand slapping me hard across the face.
"Don't ever say that to me again, you hear ?" She almost screamed at me. I could tell she was trying to contain her anger to not draw attention toward our room. " We are friends and I am not going to let you walk away like this. Ayumi needs you like everyone in the house. We are going to help you with this, just like you helped me finding my little sister !"
Suddenly, I heard her chuckle.
"Heck, if it wasn't for that monster within your body. We probably would have died in that room. You saved my life back there !"
"So, you are telling me I should be glad to have transformed ?" I asked, annoyed.
"No, I am just telling you to not feel bad about it. For this time, at least !"
There was another moment of silence before I asked her another question.
"Who knows about this ?"
"Just the two of us for now. Ben killed the two guards that escaped and he arrived after you changes back to normal !"
"Let's keep it a secret, for now !" I responded.
"But..." She sighed "Fine. Now, I think you should get ready. The other could ask themselves some question about what we are doing !"
"Where is my armor, and Nightfall ?"
"Eveything has been stored in a chest under your bed. I'll be waiting outside !" She answered before leaving the room.
I searched underneath the bed and pulled out a wooden chest. When I opened it, I saw my iron armor, and my clothes along with Nightfall. Before doing anything else, I picked up my armor and searched for my pistol. I felt something hard in the secret pocket.
"Great it's still there !"
I noticed there was a hole in the armor and in my clothes where I was stabbed by David's sword. There were also holes a the end of each finger of the gauntlet, where my claws pierced the iron.
"Oh come on, I'll have to ask Ayumi to make me one again !" I thought as I looked at my nearly destroyed T-shirt.
I put all my clothes on along my armor. Then I picked up Nightfall and put my arm in it. After I was sure I didn't leave anything in the chest, I left the room. The other were waiting for me.
"Are you ready now ?" Ben asked, his little sister on his shoulder and his snow golem girl friend at his side.
"Yep, although I never expected you to visit me while I was in a hospital !" I replied chuckling.
"Trust me. I didn't want to go in the first place but Ricka and Snowy managed to convince me !" He responded, pointing a finger towards his little sister.
"Hi !" The little girl spoke me.
"Hey Ricka !" I greeted back before turning to the snow golem girl "And you must be Snowy right ?"
"Yes, it's nice to meet you, Mickael !"
Now that I knew everyone, we made our way out of the hospital. When I stepped outside, I saw the sun was shining, mobs and human were walking together, exchanging friendly conversation. Chidren were playing. All of them seemed happy, like if that period of slavery never happened.
We walked through the streets until we arrived to a small square. I recognized Miss Sandra talking with a few citizens. As soon as she saw us, she excused herself and walking towards us. When she arrived in front of me, she bowed.
"Thank you for helping us in this fight. We are forever in your debt. Thanks to you, many civilians will finally have a bright future ahead of them !"
"Hum thanks, but I wasn't alone you know. I was with my friends !" I replied, slightly embarassed.
"I know. I already thanked your friends, you were the only one I didn't have the chance to spoke to after the fight !" She replied.
"Yeah, you are late Mickael !" Ari laughed, giving me a light tap on my back.
Sandra straightened herself up before asking with a smile :
"Will you stay with us a little longer ? We could use citizens like you !"
"As much as we would like to stay, we can't. I have a village to take care of !" Jade answered "As for the other Ari and Mickael must return to their home. Same for Charloette and Menos !"
Miss Sandra nodded before turning toward Ben.
"What about you ?"
Ben looked at Snowy and slowly took her hand in his.
"No sorry. I don't want to be attached to a city. We like our freedom and...I still have a promise to fulfill !" He replied.
Sandra smiled, understanding our reason for not staying in this city.
"Very well. I wish you good luck on your way back. As for me, I'll find a way to convince the emperor about the incoming threat. I hope we will see each other one day !"
"I hope so too !" Jade replied.
Saying our goodbye to Sandra, we returned to the entrance of the city. On our way, some of the maids we saved from the castle came to us and thanked us for freeing them from the king's slavery. When we finally got out of the city, we saw that our horses still there, right where we left them.
"So Mickael, I guess this is where we part away !"
I turned around and saw Ben behind me. Ricka was not on his shoulders since she was with Snowy as they were saying goodbye to the others.
"Yea..." I began "So, what now ? Are we going be enemies again ? Are you going to track me until you can have the bounty on my head ?" I asked.
He chuckled before crossing his arms.
"While I wouldn't call us friends, I am not your enemy anymore. I'll let you go !"
Then, he held his hand towards me. I took his hand in mine and shook it, doing a handshake.
"If we meet again, I just hope you will greet me in a more friendly way !" I replied.
Ben nodded and called Snowy and Ricka. Hearing their name, they turned around and rejoined the black armored bounty hunter. As they walked away, they both waved at us and we waved back.
After seeing them disappear into the forest, we all got on our horses and we took off at a gallop, right straight to our home. Looking backwards, I could see the city slowly fading away into the horizon. In a week, we will be at home again.
"That took longer than I thought !" I thought
"Indeed !"
One weeks later, Home, Ayumi's POV
It's has been two weeks since my human boyfriend and my best friend left to meet the king. The house was kind of empty without them. Sure, Cupa was still there but, it wasn't the same. I spent my days roaming around the house, making sure everything was okay and cooking for everybody. Hayden took Mickael's job as a miner, accompanying Cupa in our mine. Without Mickael and Ari, Vanessa just stayed in her room for the most part and only leaving when she had to eat.
Blazette was also visiting us once every two days. I guessed she must have felt lonely in such a castle without her two friends. She also tried to talk to the ghast king. After listening to her, he told to Blazette that he would talk about that to the other king and what they would do.
As for Andr, she went into the end dimension to talk about Herobrine to the Enderdragon. When she returned, she was quite happy to say the ender dragon was just like her parents decribed him : a noble ruler that would do anything to protect his kind, even going against a god. He told her that he would send a few enderman to evaluate the threat and act consequently.
It was almost dark outside, it was time to make dinner for everybody. I searched inside of the chest and pulled out a few pieces of pork meat. Then I put the meat in the furnace along with a piece of coal.
"Hey Ayumi. What are you cooking ?" I heard Cupa ask behind me.
I turned around and saw the energetic creeper girl hopping happily as she entered the kitchen. Just a few seconds later, Hayden walked in the room with his pickaxe over his shoulder.
"Just pork. I am not feeling doing anything to difficult for this evening. If you want to make a mushroom soup, there are some brown mushroom in the chest !" I replied
"Oki doki loki !"
Suddenly, we heard a horse whinnying. I looked outside the window to see four horses in front of our house. Riding them was Mickael, Ari, Charloette and Menos. A wide smile appeared on my face. I quickly dashed outside.
"Mickael !" I called him.
He turned towards me and I hugged him.
"I missed you !" I spoke up
"Oh, h-hey Ayumi !"He responded.
The was something strange in his voice, like he seemed uncomfortable. I also noticed Ari staring at us with almost sad eyes.
"Is something wrong ?" I asked.
Hearing my question, his eye widened for a second before returning to it's original state. Then, his smiled at me and wrapped his arms around me.
"No, everything is alright. How are you ?"
"I am good !" I answered "So, how did it go with the king ?"
"Hummm, let's just say it went...fine !" Ari replied, scratching the back of her head.
I saw Cupa approach one of the horse and began to pet it.
"This one is so pretty. Can we keep it ?" She asked.
"No, sorry Cupa but they are not ours. They are trained to return to the village as soon as we let them go !"
"Awww..." The creeper girl said sadly.
"Don't worry Cupa, if we find a wild horse. I'll help you tame it !" Hayden joined the conversation, putting a hand on Cupa's head.
"Really ? Thank you !" She responded, giving Hayden a quick peck on the lips.
I felt Mickael hugging me tighter, bringing me even closer to him.
"So, how about that week off I promised you ?" He smiled at me.
Blushing lightly, I took his head and pressed my lips against his'. We kissed passionately until we had to part away to breathe.
Meanwhile, Herobrine's castle, Unknow POV
"That little nuisance. I should have killed her when I had the chance !" Herobrine thought as he touched his leg. He winced when he felt a prickly sensation when his passed on his wound.
The god didn't understand how such a small object could be so destructive to his body. Not only did he feel pain when the bullets pierced his flesh, but the wounds weren't healing as fast as a normal injury. If it was an arrow, the wounds would have closed itself in a few seconds.
Because of these wounds, he had to put his plans on hiatus for a while. Now the humans and the mobs were probably aware of his return. On the top of that, Mickael was brought back from the dead by Notch, his brother. However, the infection within him was strong and Herobrine even felt the bloodlust of the creature when Mickael transformed.
"hmmm, almost...the transformation was almost complete !" I said out loud.
With difficulty, Herobrine got up from his throne and pointed a finger towards a few mobs wandering inside of the throne room
"You, you and you. Come with me !"
The mobs he pointed at began to follow him through the castle
"Let the experiments begin !" He grinned.
TO BE CONTINUED Well, like you noticed, it was a pretty long chapter, my longuest one yet which put a end to the Azlanta arc. Fun fact, I originally planned to make this arc 2 chapter long but I had so much things to say so instead of 2, it was 4 chapter So as always PM or review to tell me what you think of the story : good or bad. And if you have any suggestion for the story, feel free to contact me. See you next time
So now, here is the CPB of the next chapter
This is how it works. Each time I'll post a new chapter, I'll also post the "Chapter Progression Bar" for the next one. Also, when I'll write the chapter on my computer, I'll update the CBP at the end of the day, so you can know how fast the chapter is progressing.
The CBP will consist of 2 lines going from 0 to 100% and two line with just In progress or Done
-Imagination - This consist of what the chapter will be about and what I'll say in it. If it reach 100% then, I got all that I need to write a chapter
-Writing - Well, you know what that means, if it reachs 100% then I finished to write the chapter in question. If the line is on 99 it means I have reached my minimum of 5K word but the chapter is not finished yet.
-Final Finition - This consist of all the détails I can put to make the story better or more coherent. I can work on it before even finishing the writing
-Correction - This one is pretty much useless because, normally, I don't wait tomorrow to put the correction on a chapter but you never know. But it also mean correcting some part that may be illogical or confusing in the chapter. Like with the Final Finition part, I can work on it before even finishing the writing
So now for the Chapter Progression Bar of Chapter 24
-Imagination - 0-10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100 /
-Writing - 0-10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100 /
-Final detail - In progress- Done /
-Correction - In progress- Done /
Well, that was all I wanted to say. See you guys on the next chapter ;)
